


Branded

by SpicySnowflake



Series: Spicy's Whumptober 2020 [14]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: 5 year old female Dib, Branding, Child Abuse, Child Torture, Gen, Prisoner Red, RaDF, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, child!Dib, child!fem!Dib, elite red, fem!dib
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:26:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27032656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicySnowflake/pseuds/SpicySnowflake
Summary: Red and Dib have been stuck together in that dark and musty cell for a long time, but they've learned to make the best of it. Red was really starting to like the little alien.Of course, their captors couldn't just leave them alone...
Relationships: Almighty Tallest Red & Dib (Invader Zim)
Series: Spicy's Whumptober 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948723
Kudos: 16





	Branded

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! So this is for Day 14 of Whumptober. I'm still a day late, but its okay! 
> 
> So, this is the next one-shot featuring my "Red and a child female Dib gets captured and imprisoned together" AU (I'm working on the AU name okay XD)

They didn’t know how much time had passed since they were both captured and imprisoned, but it was long enough that they could now communicate well enough with simple sentences. Much to Red’s displeasure, Dib was learning irken at a much faster rate than he did ‘english’. Not only was she able to pronounce irken words much more clearly (which she’d already shown during their first interaction when she chose to mimic him) than he did her language, but she was able to grasp the meanings and retain them in her memory much quicker. 

Red tried to console himself by remembering that his PAK was disabled and thus, his usual memory retention had greatly decreased. Dib had her own theory but, either because of the still prevalent language barrier or the extreme cultural differences, he couldn’t really understand it; though he thought it had something to do with age. 

Nonetheless, due to that simple fact, they mostly communicated in irken. Dib was still very enthusiastic in teaching him her language though, much to his exasperation and reluctant amusement. He had to admit, he had grown fond of the little alien - the ‘hyooman’ as she claimed herself to be. She could be simpleminded at times and was very immature, but it did keep things from being too dull and depressing. 

The door opened loudly, making them both jerk in surprise. Another one of their captors came in their cell along with their usual guard. That was odd; usually their regular guard only came in to bring them their food and, unless his sense of time was compromised (more than it already was), it was too early. Something was wrong, the look on their faces made him uneasy. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Dib was also aware that something was most definitely wrong. 

Dib shifted closer to him, and Red inconspicuously gave her a reassuring squeeze, if not a protective hold. He kept his eyes on his and Dib’s captors as they talked, whether it was to them or each other, he had no idea. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He hated not being able to understand what was going on. 

Suddenly, Dib was yanked forward and she yelped in shock and pain at the rough treatment. Red couldn’t help the sound of distress that passed through his lips at having her snatched out of his grip. He watched as the guard held her down and pulled up her shirt. At first, he froze in shock and bewilderment, his eyes impossibly wide. Then he noticed the other shifting and finally took notice of what he was holding. That’s when he realized what was about to happen. Any relief he would have felt at his initial assumptions being wrong was overtaken by his rage. The _fuckers_ were going to _brand_ her!!

Red fought against his restraints, desperate to get to them. He didn’t even know what he was trying to accomplish, he already knew it was useless trying to get out of those chains, but he couldn’t think of anything other than that he couldn’t just let them do that to her. 

His gaze focused on the glowing hot metal - _those barbarians_ \- as it inched closer to his friend’s exposed skin. Then the most piercing and gut wrenching scream he ever heard tore through her lips. He never felt so helpless as he was forced to watch as the alien who had become a pleasant companion to him in this wretched prison cell was put through agonizing pain. The tiny woman who had actually made him laugh while caged and chained like an animal was suffering, and he couldn’t do anything about it. 

After what felt like an eternity, but logically he knew shouldn't have been more than several seconds, the savage finally pulled the branding iron away. Her skin, which was once a smooth and flawless pale colour that Red had never seen before, had turned into a gruesome sight that he knew would turn into a horrible scar. 

Her breathing had become erratic, and Red could see tears streaming down her face and pooling to the ground her face was lying on. Dib was still conscious, which was impressive enough for someone who hadn’t undergone the intense military training he had, and he could tell that she was trying to hold back her sobs. She failed, but the fact that she still had the strength to try was admirable.

The primitive barbarians had moved away from her, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to move from her spot on the floor, and turned to Red. He glared at them with all the defiance and disgust that he could muster, and it was a lot. 

He knew what was coming next. He also knew that it would be pointless to struggle. Trying would make him a coward. He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction. He grit his teeth in anticipation, and when the metal seared into his skin, it took all he had not to scream.

**Author's Note:**

> Have you guys noticed the thing about Red with Dib? I wanna know if you guys noticed it, please leave a comment about it ^^


End file.
